DURHAM, N.C. -- The Duke Endowment has awarded $100,000 to Duke University's art department in honor of Juanita Kreps and her daughter Laura. Juanita Kreps, a Duke vice president emeritus and economics professor emeritus, served on the Endowment's Board of Trustees from 1979 to 2003. Laura Kreps is a 1976 Duke graduate who majored in art.
Juanita Kreps was the first woman to serve as U.S. Secretary of Commerce (1977-79) and on the board of directors of the New York Stock Exchange (1972-77). She received her M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in economics from Duke, then returned to the university in 1955 as a faculty member. She became a full professor in 1968 and four years later was appointed James B. Duke Professor of Economics. She also served as director of undergraduate studies in economics, dean of the Woman's College, assistant provost and vice president. Among her many scholarly works was "Sex in the Marketplace" (The Johns Hopkins Press, 1971), an early chronicle of sex discrimination in the U.S. labor market.
"I first met Juanita Kreps when I was a Duke undergraduate and she was the dean of the Woman's College, and I asked whether she might take a minute to discuss my dream of pursuing a Ph.D.," said Elizabeth H. Locke, president of The Duke Endowment. "Her response was, 'Yes, of course,' and her advice was so heartfelt and encouraging. She was a wonderful mentor, as she has been for countless individuals and institutions. In particular, she brought wise counsel to the Endowment, which now honors her with this gift to the university where she touched so many lives."
The gift will go toward the endowment of the art department. It is the latest honor bestowed upon Kreps at Duke. A gallery at the Center for Documentary Studies is named in her honor, and an endowed chair in the economics department is named for her and her husband Clifton.
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The Duke Endowment, based in Charlotte, was started in 1924 by industrialist, philanthropist and Duke University founder James B. Duke. Today, it is one of the nation's largest foundations. In 2003, The Duke Endowment awarded more than $108 million to agencies and organizations in the Carolinas.